GREEN EDUCATION

According to the Government Environmental Protection Agency(EPA)...

""Recycling is the process of collecting and processing materials that would otherwise be thrown away as trash and turning them into new products. Recycling can benefit your community and the environment.""

Benefits of Recycling:


  • Reduces the amount of waste sent to landfills and incinerators

  • Conserves natural resources such as timber, water and minerals

  • Increases economic security by tapping a domestic source of materials

  • Prevents pollution by reducing the need to collect new raw materials

  • Saves energy

  • Supports American manufacturing and conserves valuable resources

  • Helps create jobs in the recycling and manufacturing industries in the United States

Steps to Recycling Materials:

Step 1: Collection and Processing

Info- Recyclables are sent to a recovery facility to be sorted, cleaned and processed into materials that can be used in manufacturing. Recyclables are bought and sold just like raw materials would be, and prices go up and down depending on supply and demand in the United States and the world.

Step 2: Manufacturing

Info- More and more of today's products are being manufactured with recycled content. Common household items that contain recycled materials include the following:

  • Newspapers and paper towels

  • Aluminum, plastic, and glass soft drink containers

  • Steel cans

  • Plastic laundry detergent bottles

Step 3: Purchasing New Products Made from Recycled Materials

Info- You help close the recycling loop by buying new products made from recycled materials. There are thousands of products that contain recycled content. When you go shopping, look for the following:

  • Products that can be easily recycled

  • Products that contain recycled content

Common Recycled Products:

  • Aluminum cans

  • Car bumpers

  • Carpeting

  • Cereal boxes

  • Comic books

  • Egg cartons

  • Glass containers

  • Laundry detergent bottles

  • Motor oil

  • Nails

  • Newspapers

  • Paper towels

  • Steel products

  • Trash bags


Recycling Facts


Did you know?

EPA released significant findings on the economic benefits of the recycling industry with an update to the national Recycling Economic Information (REI) Study in 2016. This study analyzes the numbers of jobs, wages and tax revenues attributed to recycling. The study found that in a single year, recycling and reuse activities in the United States accounted for:

Recycling creates jobs that offer:


  • 681,000 jobs

  • $37.8 billion in wages; and

  • $5.5 billion in tax revenues.

  • This equates to 1.17 jobs per 1,000 tons of materials recycled and $65.23 in wages and $9.42 in tax revenue for every ton of materials recycled.


Tasks that Recycling Involves and takes action for:


1. Collecting, processing and preparing materials. Your discarded materials are picked up and then brought to processing facilities where they are sorted and prepared to sell to markets.

2. Making new products from recycled materials (manufacturing). Your recyclables then head to manufacturing facilities that use recycled feedstocks, such as paper mills, metal smelters and plastic manufacturing facilities. Compost facilities turn your discarded yard and food scraps into valuable soil amendment.

3. Reuse and remanufacturing. Some discards are sorted and fixed up to be used again through computer refurbishers, thrift stores and auto salvage yards.


Types of Recycling Products

  • Recycled-content product - The product was manufactured with recycled materials either collected from a recycling program or from waste recovered during the normal manufacturing process. The label will sometimes include how much of the content was from recycled materials.

  • Post-consumer content - Very similar to recycled content, but the material comes only from recyclables collected from consumers or businesses through a recycling program.

  • Recyclable product - Products that can be collected, processed and manufactured into new products after they have been used. These products do not necessarily contain recycled materials. Remember not all kinds of recyclables may be collected in your community so be sure to check with your local recycling program before you buy.